1 John
From Greek and Aramaic Sources
About
A letter, traditionally understood to be from Jesus’Yeshua’sIshoa’s Apostle John sometime late in the 1st Century AD.
However, if it was written by the Apostle John, then he may have used one or more secretaries, because there are specific differences in the writing styles between all the works traditionally attributed to him.
Source
We’ve translated it from Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest and most complete Greek manuscripts dating from the 300s AD.
Where the Aramaic Khabouris Codex disagrees with the Greek text, we defer to the Aramaic because it’s a reliable independent witness to the original text. It seems to preserve older, more original readings. Some even argue that this book could have been originally written in Aramaic, but this is difficult to prove. Learn more.
Translation
- Known and suspected fake words and phrases commonly included in popular translations are
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- Text that’s missing from our source manuscript, but filled in from another source, is marked with [[double brackets]].
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- The original texts had no chapter or verse numbers, paragraph breaks, line breaks, margins, punctuation, or capital letters. These are all added for clarity, but be aware that they can sometimes subtly alter the meaning. Learn more.
- Words [inserted] by the translator for clarity are always in [brackets]. These are not part of the original source text. Learn more.
1
1The message of life has been here since the beginning.
We’ve heard about it, seen it with our eyes, stared at it, and felt it with our hands.
2Yes, the life was on display… We’ve seen it, we’ve testified about it, and now we’re reporting to you that there’s age-long life with the Father, because He’s shown it to us.
3As a result, we’re reporting back to you about these things that we’ve seen and heard, so that we can share in it with you.
Yes, we’ve shared in this with the Father and His Son JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed One, 4and now we’re writing these things down to complete our joy!
5The message that we heard from Him (which we want to announce to you) is this:
‘God is light and there isn’t any darkness in Him!’
6Now, if we say that we’re sharing with Him, but we just keep on walking in the darkness, then we’re lying and we aren’t being truthful. 7But if we’re walking in the light (since He’s in the light), we’re also sharing what we have with each other, and the blood of His Son JesusYeshuaIshoa is cleansing us of all our sins.
8However, if we claim that we don’t have any sins, then we’re misleading ourselves. There’s no truth in us.
9But if we’ll admit to our sins, He will forgive us and wash away all our unrighteousness, because He’s faithful and righteous. 10For when we say that we haven’t sinned, we’re saying that He’s a liar, and His words aren’t in us!
2
1My little children,
I’m writing these things to you so as to keep you from committing any sins.
However, if anyone does commit a sin, we have someone righteous who is our advocate with the Father: JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed One. 2For he’s the sacrifice that begs forgiveness for our sins… And not just for ours, but also for those of the whole world!
3This is how we can be sure that we’ve come to know him:
If we keep on obeying his commandments!
4So anyone who says, ‘Now I know him,’ but doesn’t obey his commandments, [he] is a liar and the truth isn’t in him.
5However, God’s love has been made perfect in all those who really do as they’ve been told. And that’s how we know whether we’re really in him. 6For whoever says that he’s in [JesusYeshuaIshoa] is obligated to keep on walking in the same path that [JesusYeshuaIshoa] walked.
7Loved ones,
What I’m writing to you about here isn’t a new commandment, it’s an old commandment that you’ve had since the beginning. This old commandment is all the instructions that you’ve heard so far.
8However, now I’m also writing a new commandment for you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9It’s that those who say they’re already in the light, but dislike their brothers, are still in the dark!
10Only those who love their brothers are in the light, so they don’t go stumbling about. 11Meanwhile, those who dislike their brothers are still in darkness. They’re walking around in the dark without any idea of where they’re going, because the darkness has left them blind.
- 12I’m writing to those of you who are still boys, because your sins have been forgiven through his name.
- 13I’m writing to those of you who are fathers, because you’ve come to know the one who is from long ago.
- I’m writing to those of you who are young men, because you’ve conquered the wicked one.
- I’ve written to you who are boys, because you’ve come to know the Father.
- 14I’ve written to you who are fathers, because you’ve come to know the one who is from long ago.
- I’ve written to you who are young men, because you’re strong, God’s word is in you, and you’ve conquered the wicked one.
15Don’t love the world or anything in [it]. For if anyone loves the world, there’s no love of the Father in him!
16Because, nothing in this world – its fleshly desires, its lusting after the things we can see, its trusting that we can each provide for ourselves – [none of it] comes from the Father. Rather all of this comes from the world…
17And the world is passing away with all of its desires!
However, those who do God’s Will remain throughout the age.
18Young children,
It’s the last hour.
And as you’ve heard, the fake anointed one is coming, for there are already many fake anointed ones… And that’s how we know it’s the last hour. 19They left us because they weren’t like us; for if they’d been like us, they’d still be with us… And this is what proves that they aren’t like us.
20However, the Holy One has chosen you (but then, you already know that). 21So I’m not writing to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it.
Remember that there are no lies in the truth!
22And who are the liars?
They’re the ones who deny that JesusYeshuaIshoa is the Anointed One!
Yes, these are the fake anointed ones: they’re the ones who deny both the Father and the Son. 23For whoever denies the Son [also denies] the Father. But those who have the Son also have the Father.
24As for you, hang onto the things that you heard long ago!
For if the things that you heard long ago stick with you, you’ll remain in the Son and in the Father… 25and what they have promised us is age-long life!
26Now, I’m writing this to you [so as to warn you] about those who are trying to lead you astray.
27I realize that you don’t need anyone to be teaching you, since the anointing that you received from him is still in you, and his anointing is teaching you about everything… It is true and it doesn’t lie. So, just as it is teaching you, you must remain in him.
28Little children,
You must stay in him, so that when he is revealed, we can then speak freely and not be shamed at his appearance. 29For if you recognize the fact that he is righteous, you’ll also recognize that all who do what is righteous have been fathered by him.
3
1Look at the type of love that the Father has given us… To be called the children of God (which is what we really are). And that’s the reason why the world doesn’t understand us… Because they don’t understand Him!
2But loved ones, although we’re the children of The God, we really haven’t been shown what we’ll be yet. All we do know is that when [JesusYeshuaIshoa] is revealed, we’ll be like him, and then we’ll see him just as he is.
3Therefore, all those who have been given this hope will purify themselves [so that they can be like him]. 4However, those who just keep on sinning are lawbreakers… For lawlessness is sin.
5You already know that the reason why he showed himself [in the flesh] was to take away our sins, since there are no sins in him. 6Therefore, no one who is in him will keep on sinning. However, those who continue to sin haven’t seen him or come to know him yet.
7Little children,
Don’t allow anyone to mislead you. Only those who do righteous things can be righteous in the same way that he’s righteous. 8For sinners come from the Slanderer, because the Slanderer has been sinning since ancient times. And the reason why the Son of God was shown [in the flesh] was to wipe away the deeds of the Slanderer.
9Therefore, no one who is been fathered by The God can remain a sinner, because His [life] is within him… He can’t keep on sinning, because God has become his Father!
10Now, it’s easy to tell the children of God from the children of the Slanderer, for God doesn’t become a father to the unrighteous and to those who don’t love their brothers.
11Indeed, from the earliest [days] you’ve heard the message that we must love each other! 12[We don’t want to be] like Cain who came from the wicked one and slaughtered his brother.
And why did he slaughter him? Because what his brother did was righteous, while what he did was wicked. 13Therefore brothers, don’t be surprised that the world hates you!
14We know that we’ve crossed over from ‘death’ to ‘life’ when we truly love our brothers. However, those who don’t love them just stay ‘dead.’ 15For whoever dislikes his brother is [just like] a murderer… And we all know that murderers won’t receive age-long life.
16But we know that we’ve been loved, because [JesusYeshuaIshoa] gave his life for us… And this is why we should also be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers!
17However, how can God’s love be in a person who may have the worldly means to give aid, but doesn’t feel any pity for his brother when he sees that he’s in need?
18Little children,
Don’t just love with your tongues and with words, but in reality, by doing [whatever is needed].
19And this is how we can prove whether we’re really being truthful with ourselves and that our hearts can be confident when we stand before Him. 20But if our hearts are still condemning us, God is greater than our hearts and He knows all that’s going on in there!
21Loved ones,
If our hearts don’t condemn us, we can have full confidence in God 22and trust that we’ll receive whatever we ask of Him, because we’re obeying His commandments and doing the things that are pleasing in His eyes.
23And this is what He’s commanded:
We must believe in the name of His Son JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed One, and [we must] love each other… Just as He told us.
24For those who keep His commandments are in Him, and He is in them! Yes, this is how we can know that He is in us:
By the breath that He has given us.
4
1But loved ones,
Don’t believe every breath… You must test the breaths to prove whether they actually come from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2You can tell whether a breath is from The God by this:
Every breath that speaks of JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed One as having come in the flesh, comes from God.
3But any breath not speaking of JesusYeshuaIshoa doesn’t come from God, but from the fake anointed, whom you heard would come into the world… And who is already here.
4Little children,
Since you were fathered by God, you’ve already conquered them all… For [the One] who is in you is greater than the whole world!
5Now, those who are fathered by this world talk about worldly things, and the world listens to them. 6But because we’ve been fathered by The God, only those who know Him will listen to us, while those who aren’t from Him won’t listen to us… And this is how you can tell the true breaths from the false breaths.
7Loved ones,
Keep on loving each other, because love comes from God… So those who love, know God, because love comes from God!
8However, those who don’t love haven’t known God, because God is love!
9He showed His love for us when He sent His one-and-only Son into this world so that we could gain life through him. 10And this is true love! Because, [back when] we didn’t love God, He still loved us, and He sent His Son as a sacrifice to cover our sins.
11Loved ones,
If this is how much God loves us, then we’re also obliged to love each other!
12Indeed, no one has ever seen The God, but as long as we love each other, He’s in us and He’s perfecting His love in us.
13Therefore, we can know that we’re in Him and He’s in us, because He’s given us His breath… 14And we’ve also seen and testified to the fact that the Father sent His Son as the Savior of the world. 15For whenever anyone admits that JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed One is God’s Son, God is in [this person] and he’s in God.
16So, this is how we’ve come to know and believe in the love that The God has for us… Because God is love, and whoever keeps on loving is in God, and God is in him.
17This love is also being made perfect in us, so we’ll be able to speak freely in the Judgment Day. And by this, we can be just like Him while we’re still in this world!
18Understand that there isn’t any fear in love, because perfect love casts out all our fears. However, those who are still afraid are being tormented by it, because they still haven’t perfected their love.
19But, as for us, we love because He loved us first!
20Therefore, if anyone says ‘I love God,’ and he still dislikes his brother, then he’s a liar! For if he doesn’t love his brother whom he can see, how can he love God whom he can’t see?
21So we have this commandment from Him:
‘All who would love God must also love their brothers!’
5
1Now, those who believe that JesusYeshuaIshoa is the Anointed One have been fathered by The God. And those who love the One who fathered [them], must also love those [others] whom He fathered.
2And this is how we know that we love God’s children:
When we love God and we are obeying His commandments.
3Yes, this is love for God: obeying His commandments and not [feeling that] His commandments are hard to follow, 4because everyone fathered by God has conquered the world. And the victor who conquers the world is our faith.
5So, who has conquered the world other than those who have faith that JesusYeshuaIshoa is the Son of The God? 6For he’s the one who came through water and blood… JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed!
No, not just through water, but through water and blood! And the breath testifies to this, because the breath is true.
7So there are these three witnesses: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the holy breath, and these three are one. 8And there are three that bear witness on the earth: [spurious text] the breath, the water, and the blood, and these three are one.
9Understand that if we can believe the testimony that men provide, the testimony that God gives is even greater… And God has personally testified about His Son! 10So, all those who put faith in the Son of God now have this testimony within themselves!
Yet, those who don’t believe God’s own testimony are making Him out to be a liar, because they haven’t trusted what God personally said about His Son. 11And this is what He testified to:
He will give us age-long life, and this life is in His Son!
12Therefore, those who have the Son also have the life. But those who don’t have the Son don’t have the life.
13I’m writing all of this to you, so you’ll know that those who have faith in the name of the Son of God have age-long life. 14And as a result, we can trust that no matter what we may ask for ourselves (as long as it’s His Will), He hears us.
15So, if we know that He hears whatever we ask Him for… We also know that we’ll have the things we asked for, just because we asked Him.
16Now, if you should see your brother committing a sin that isn’t deadly, you can ask that he might be given life, not death. However, there are sins that do bring death, and when it comes to such sins, I’m telling you not to ask for anything. 17Of course, everything that’s unrighteous is a sin… But there are sins that aren’t deadly.
18We know that none of those who have been fathered by God will continue to sin. For having The God as their Father protects them so that the Wicked One can’t touch them.
19And we know that, while we come from The God, the whole world is still under the influence of the evil one.
20We also know that the Son of God has come here and he has given us the understanding so that we might know this One who is true, and that we are living in this True One through His Son JesusYeshuaIshoa the Anointed.
For He is the God of Truth and of age-long life!
21My children, stay away from following idols!
Public Domain
This particular version of the translated text is public domain.
It will soon be replaced with a significantly updated version which will be freely available under a Creative Commons license.